Shrapnel Explosive Tag

Standing on the grassland, the medical unit's dugout was extremely difficult to spot.

But from the air, the square-shaped dugout of the medical unit was quite conspicuous.

Ōnoki discovered a high-value target; after dodging a thrust from the Adamantine Enma Staff, he flew toward the medical unit.

The Konoha side also discovered Ōnoki's movements and hurriedly made adjustments.

More and more Konoha ninja automatically blocked the front of the medical unit.

Kanzuki Senju suddenly jumped in front of the medical unit's guard captain, Chu Inuzuka.

"Captain! I have a small frame! Please throw me out! Throw me high into the air, then use Explosive Tag Shuriken to attack the Tsuchikage!"

Chu Inuzuka looked in surprise at Kanzuki Senju, who only reached his waist; this girl had just graduated this year and was far from grown.

Yet, it was precisely her petite build that made her perfectly suited for the plan she proposed.

The Senju Clan, still as brave as ever.

The medical unit's guard squad could not just wait here to die, waiting for Ōnoki to pass judgment on them; they had to do something in advance.

Just as Chu Inuzuka was about to agree, Kawadera Uchiha, standing to his side and rear, suddenly stepped forward and said:

"I have a tactic that can be effective!"

In his sea of consciousness, Kawadera Uchiha said: "Lord Second Hokage, this is what you said—save Kanzuki Senju, and you will give me an A-rank mission reward!"

"Indeed!" Tobirama Senju said:

"What a farce. The original intention of founding Konoha was to create a village where children could grow up safely.

Kanzuki is just a genin; letting her face Ōnoki directly is too reckless!"

"But I'm also just a child who is 240 months old; isn't it just as reckless for me to face Ōnoki?" Kawadera Uchiha said:

"Lord Second Hokage, I have already accepted the mission and saved Kanzuki Senju.

Now, teach me whatever good tricks you have. You must have some trump card to deal with Ōnoki if you're making me do this, right?"

"None."

"What! None?"

"The methods I used to deal with Ōnoki or the Second Tsuchikage are not things you can replicate."

"Then you can't possibly expect me to defeat Ōnoki with genjutsu, can you? Ōnoki just doesn't use genjutsu often, but his genjutsu resistance must be a perfect 10!"

"That is none of my concern."

Kawadera Uchiha understood that in Tobirama Senju's eyes, he was the type of person who was expendable.

Compared to the half-grown child Kanzuki Senju, Chu Inuzuka was more willing to trust the Special Jōnin, Kawadera Uchiha.

Kawadera Uchiha met Chu Inuzuka's expectant gaze, and catching sight of someone in his peripheral vision, he immediately pointed at him.

"Captain Chu Inuzuka, I request to cooperate with Dazhou Yamanaka to deal with Ōnoki together!"

"Me?" Dazhou Yamanaka pointed his index finger at himself, then asked again:

"Me? I'm going to deal with Ōnoki? But I don't even have my Ino-Shika-Chō teammates!"

On the battlefield, Ino-Shika-Chō usually appeared in groups of three; he was quite unlucky, as his teammates had already sacrificed themselves three times, and he had survived all three times.

He didn't know which bastard had spread the rumor that he was a jinx who cursed his teammates, having already cursed six of them to death.

Kawadera Uchiha looked at the guard squad's Ninja Hawks; two hawks were perched on a ninja's shoulder.

He said: "Captain Chu Inuzuka, let us try; there isn't much time left!"

Chu Inuzuka nodded and said to Dazhou Yamanaka: "Dazhou, listen to Kawadera, act quickly!

The rest of you, don't slack off, get the Explosive Tag Kunai ready!"

Kawadera Uchiha ruffled Kanzuki Senju's hair, signaling her not to be impulsive.

"Leave this kind of thing to the adults; children shouldn't try to be heroes."

In that instant, Kanzuki Senju suddenly understood why her cousin Seigetsu Senju came to see Kawadera Uchiha every day.

This sense of security, this gentleness, was hard to forget. His identity as an Uchiha and his Sharingan did not affect this sense of security in the slightest.

Dazhou Yamanaka walked to Kawadera Uchiha's side, bewildered, not knowing what Kawadera Uchiha intended to do.

"Kid! I didn't target you when you were promoted to Special Jōnin, did I? For the final report, I gritted my teeth and wrote 'Genjutsu specialty, fully qualified for Special Jōnin'!"

Kawadera Uchiha pointed at the Ninja Hawks and said: "Quick! Dazhou Yamanaka, can you use the Mind Transfer Jutsu to control these two Ninja Hawks?"

"My Mind Transfer Jutsu is for controlling enemies, for controlling people; I've never controlled a Ninja Hawk before! Why don't you ask Jōnin Mei Senju to play veterinarian?"

"How will you know if you don't try? Hurry up, there's no time!"

Dazhou Yamanaka had no choice but to cast the Mind Transfer Jutsu on the Ninja Hawks. Fortunately, the hawks also had chakra in their bodies, providing an anchor point for his secret technique chakra to be released.

Kawadera Uchiha, meanwhile, had two Explosive Tag Wooden Cylinders ready on the side.

The Ninja Hawks took flight from the ground.

Unlike other Ninja Hawks, the gaze of this one was peculiar; at times it seemed ignorant, at others vacant, and then suddenly, it would flash with a sharp, piercing brilliance.

The Ninja Hawk took off in a straight line, soaring high into the sky until it was higher than Ōnoki, then began its descent toward him.

Ōnoki noticed the bird, though he initially assumed it was merely a messenger hawk.

Since he had already locked onto his target, what use was a messenger hawk to the medical facility?

Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi moved quickly, Ōnoki would destroy the medical facility before he could reach it.

Unless the First Hokage or Madara Uchiha were to rise from the dead, he had declared that no one could save Konoha's medical facility.

The Ninja Hawk began its dive!

Hm?

Ōnoki looked up, watching the diving hawk with a puzzled expression.

The angle of the dive was clever; he, the hawk, and the sun were perfectly aligned, leaving him able to see only a black speck amidst the blinding glare.

He could fly, and this tactic of utilizing the sun's glare was one he used quite often.

"A mere parlor trick."

A ninja could not possibly be killed by a bird that didn't even qualify as a proper summoning creature.

The hawk's talons wouldn't even be able to pluck a single hair from Ōnoki's head.

This bird was not worth a single shot of Dust Release.

Ōnoki gathered chakra in his mouth to form a stone, then spat it violently toward the hawk.

Earth Style: Rock Bullet Technique!

The stone expanded in the wind, growing from a pebble into a boulder several meters wide.

Yet, the Ninja Hawk possessed reaction speed and intelligence far beyond Ōnoki's expectations.

On the ground, Dazhou Yamanaka felt cold sweat bead on his forehead, trickling down to his eyebrows and causing an itch.

Fortunately, he had reacted quickly, guiding the hawk to use the high-altitude air currents to change direction just in time.

However, the very next instant, a second Rock Bullet flew out and struck the hawk!

Feathers scattered everywhere, stained with blood; the Ninja Hawk had been severely wounded.

Kawadera Uchiha clenched his hand tightly.

Now!

Strapped to the back of the Ninja Hawk was actually a smaller hawk.

In the midst of the chaos, the smaller Ninja Hawk took flight again, speeding toward Ōnoki.

Ōnoki's eyes had already shifted downward, and it was only after hearing a new whistling sound that he looked up to see the second hawk.

He immediately deduced that this bird had been hidden on the back of the previous one.

The distance was a bit close.

But, it didn't matter.

Another Rock Bullet shot forth.

Dazhou Yamanaka furrowed his brows; the tactic Kawadera Uchiha had designed for him had reached its most critical juncture.

The Ninja Hawk was fast; it neither dodged nor retreated, but instead used its momentum to hurl a wooden cylinder toward Ōnoki.

Ōnoki's Rock Bullet did indeed strike the hawk, but the wooden cylinder was now even closer to him!

Kawadera Uchiha kept his eyes fixed on the sky, his hands held in the detonating seal for the explosive tags.

"Detonate!"

The wooden cylinder exploded a dozen meters away from Ōnoki.

It couldn't get any closer; Ōnoki had already begun to evade.

Many others on the ground were also craning their necks, staring at the sky.

Kanzuki Senju felt a wave of disappointment; she realized the explosion had occurred some distance away from the Tsuchikage.

It seemed Brother-in-law Kawadera's tactic had failed...

However, what happened in the next few seconds left everyone on the ground stunned.

Ōnoki... was he injured?

As expected, it worked, Kawadera Uchiha thought to himself.

He hadn't just stuffed ten explosive tags into the wooden cylinder; he had also broken shuriken into fingernail-sized iron shards and packed them inside as well.

Those weren't ordinary explosive tags; they were Shrapnel Explosive Tags!

Countless shards flew in every direction.

By the time Ōnoki realized something was wrong, it was too late; a piece of shrapnel had embedded itself into his thigh.

Blood!

Ōnoki was bleeding!

Ninjas are all glass cannons, Kawadera Uchiha thought, and Ōnoki is no exception.

Dazhou Yamanaka exclaimed in shock, "I wounded the Tsuchikage, Ōnoki? Me?"